OBEDIENCE IS THE STRONGEST AND MOST POTENT FORCE OF ALL SPIRITUAL VIRTUES
THE HOLY GHOST ENERGIZES THE BELIEVER TO COMPLY WITH KINGDOM INSTRUCTIONS
FOR EVERY PROMISE OF GOD, THERE ARE CONDITIONS TO BE MET
OBEDIENCE MUST BE PERSONAL FOR IT TO BE EFFECTUAL.
HOW I SOWED MY FIRST BRAND NEW CAR AS A SEED IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS.
THE COMMAND OF OBEDIENCE MAY BE IN SECRET BUT THE REWARD OF OBEDIENCE IS ALWAYS OPEN.
OBEDIENCE IS THE COVENANT GATEWAY TO ACCESSING AND SUSTAINING THE BLESSINGS OF GOD.
OBEDIENCE IS THE STRONGEST CURRENCY WITH UNLIMITED PURCHASING POWER IN THE KINGDOM.
WHERE OUR OBEDIENCE STOPS IS WHERE GOD’S BLESSING STOPS.
PARTIAL OBEDIENCE DOESN’T COUNT WITH GOD.
- Pastor Steve Ogah on “EMPOWERED TO COMMAND SUPERNATURAL BLESSINGS” at AYAC 2024 Day Four Morning Session || Annual Youth Alive Convention 2024 || “EMPOWERED” || Third Word Session || Faith Tabernacle Canaanland || 15th of August 2024.
For all of the powerful Words we received since this morning’s session began, let’s give Jesus another big hand of praise. Now, in this last segment on our teaching series for this morning, it’s my privilege to bring God’s Word our way and I count it a very big privilege given by God and by my father, the Apostle over this great Commission. Church Gist. I’m grateful and thankful. I acknowledge the presence of the Resident Pastor also seated in our midst.
- Give Jesus a big hand!
Well, very quickly, I have the privilege to open us up to a topic captioned, “EMPOWERED TO COMMAND SUPERNATURAL BLESSINGS”. How many of us are hungry for strange orders of supernatural blessings? Can I see you wave your hands? Are you hungry for some dimension of supernatural blessings? Church Gist. Well, for everyone who is waving his hand or waving her hand, the showers of supernatural blessings are pouring upon you!
Since we got on this mountain, this mountain of empowerment, the foundation we received at the beginning was God’s principal channel of empowerment is the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. God’s principal channel, instrument of empowerment is the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Church Gist. So, we can’t talk about empowerment without the Holy Ghost. Acts 1:8. So, until the Holy Ghost came, they were powerless but at the instance of the arrival of the Holy Ghost, power came.
- Power has come upon every youth upon this mountain of AYAC.
- If you’re one of them, your Amen will be loud and clear.
We saw the effect in the lives of the Apostles. Before the Holy Ghost came they were timid, they were afraid. Church Gist. They gathered together in the upper room praying but as soon as the Holy Ghost came, power came, authority came, audacity came. The same fidgeting apostles, Peter that could not stand to defend Christ before a child, he stood before the entire city and began to declare.
- The you that will descend from this mountain of AYAC will challenge every satanic opposition upon your return!
But this Holy Spirit from Scriptures, we understand, manifest in diverse dimensions. Ezekiel 36:27, that’s what God is saying here. Church Gist. That for every youth in this commission, He will put His spirit within each one of us. And what will that spirit do? Ezekiel 36:27. So, the Holy Ghost amongst others, enables the believers to obey the will of God. So, when the Holy Ghost comes, He gives empowerment to be a doer of the Word. Church Gist. He energizes the believer to comply with Kingdom instructions. That’s the ministry of the Holy Ghost. Now, listen to me this morning, obedience is the strongest and most potent force of all spiritual virtues. Obedience. So powerful that every other spiritual battle hinges on this force of obedience. Think about this. Prayer is a product of obedience. Luke 18:1. Church Gist. The Scripture says, “men ought always to pray”, yes, it’s a commandment but man has a choice to obey or disobey. Men ought always to pray but man still has a choice to pray. In Matthew 6:6, “when thou prayest”, it’s a choice. And obedience is what defines what side we fall in. We are commanded to give but giving is also a choice and it takes man’s obedience to give. Church Gist. We are commanded to seek first the Kingdom of God, Matthew 6:33, but man has a choice to obey or disobey.
Hear me and hear me well this morning, your provision and my provision is tied to divine instructions. Proverbs 13:18.
- may the grace of obedience, joyful obedience, excited obedience, may that grace land upon every youth in this place.
Proverbs 13:18. The outcome is clear, the result is clear. Church Gist. It said, for any man or woman that refuses instruction, the outcome is poverty and shame.
- it will not come near you!
Proverbs 13:18b. - You shall be honoured!
- if that prayer is for somebody here, your Amen will show it.
If you check all through Scriptures, this Book called the Bible is a book of instructions. You check for every promise of God, there are conditions to be met. In other words, there’s always what man must do for God to move. So, sitting and waiting and wishing is equal to wasting, nothing changes that way. Church Gist. Obedience carries a cost. There’s a cost for obedience and only the empowered can pay the price. Often times, this cost is beyond what natural realities can bear. There’s a price for obedience. And when this grace of the Holy Ghost comes upon a man, upon a woman, it empowers that person to obey God in season and out of season. This grace empowers man to obey when you feel like it and when you don’t feel like it. We saw an episode in Luke chapter 5. Church Gist. Peter toiled all night and caught nothing, yet Jesus got on the scene. Luke 5:4-5. Hear what Simon said, “I’m a fisherman, a professional one at that, I know the best time to fish, I’ve been fishing here all this while. I know the rudiments of fishing. Master, despite my skill, we have toiled all night and taken nothing, not even a fingerling, nothing. Not one fish, all night”. Church Gist. But see the clause there, “nevertheless”. Somebody say, ‘nevertheless’. That’s what obedience does. In spite of the realities I see, in spite of the feelings I have z i choose to comply”. Luke 5:5-6. Watch this, fire your obedience to every instruction you’re receiving on this mountain, the kind of harvest you’ll begin to enjoy, the kind of blessing you’ll begin to receive will be net-breaking dimensions. Church Gist. The kind that overflows, overflowing blessing. The kind that you don’t have enough room to contain.
- That’s the realm somebody is going to from this Mountain. Well, if that person is here your Amen will be louder than your neighbour’s.
I’ve discovered that obedience must be personal for it to be effectual. Obedience! Must be personal for it to be effectual. Isaiah 51:2-3. Church Gist. “He will make our wilderness like Eden.”
-That will be somebody’s testimony.
For obedience to be effectual, it must be personal. There are many times God will give us instructions as individuals, you may hear that instruction by yourself alone. It takes your obedience to enjoy the blessings and the benefits. I remember very vividly, I’ve shared this testimony at different platforms. In the year 2009 at Shiloh, the impartation service. I was seated somewhere at the Honour Entrance towards the back and that day, the atmosphere was so charged. Church Gist. I was charged in my spirit and I began to say to the Lord: “Lord! I want to give you something in obedience to Your Word. Something that will cost me.” And I heard: “Give me that car!” And I shifted from where I was and I said: “Father! In the name of Jesus, I want to give You something in obedience to Your Word that will cost me.” And I heard: “Give me that car.” “The voice of the stranger I will not hear.” I move to the next location. And watch this, I just bought my first brand-new car that year. I loved that car at that time. If you touch that car, I will touch you. I didn’t remove the nylon from that car, I still remember the plate number. I will remember that plate number even in Heaven – RW601AAA.
Everyone that knew me knew that car. Everywhere I go; I see bump, I dodge. Nothing must touch that car. That was the first brand-new car I’d bought at that time. And then, I heard: “Give me that car!” And after the third time, I said: “Well! Father, thank You.” And I drove after the service, went to the car, packed all the remaining things, put them in a backpack (and) drove the car to the Church officer at the secretariat. Walked into the reception, met a pastor standing there. I said: “Hey Sir, I came to drop a seed.” He said: “What is it?” I said: “A car.” He said: “Which car? That your car?” And I said: “Yes!” Because anyone that knew me then knew the car. Church Gist. I bathed that car – morning and evening. Everyone that knew me then knew that car. He said: “That your car?” At that time, I knew, with all due respect, he couldn’t do what I was doing. And I dropped the car and I trekked back to where I was staying somewhere in Covenant University in 2009. And then, that evening the Lord asked me: “How many do you want?” I wasn’t married. And I said to the Lord: “Lord! Well! Not to be greedy but I won’t mind three vehicles in the coming year.” So I can use one for morning, one for afternoon; one for evening. Are you hearing what I’m saying? And the following Monday! I gave this seed on Saturday. By Monday, God blessed me with one and before the end of that year, I had three vehicles parked in my house. Three! Now, I heard the Word but I had the choice to obey. Fast forward! Vehicle is not the prayer point anymore. Are you hearing what I’m saying? For obedience to be effectual, it must be personal. You must comply as an individual.
- The command of obedience may be in secret but the reward of obedience is always open.
The commandment of obedience may be secret. Oftentimes, when God speaks, He speaks to us in the secret, in the secret place of our hearts, but the rewards of obedience are always open. Men will see it, men will testify of it. Church Gist. Think about our Father, think about the journey of his life all these years in Ministry. All or most of the instructions that moved his ministry from one level to the other came as instructions to him in the private – in the shower, inside the car, tired. “Get down to Lagos, raise Me a people.” He had the choice to decline the voice. The instruction came in the secret but the reward is open for all eyes to see.
-May I declare over each youth in the house this morning: When God begins to decorate your obedience, all eyes will see it.
- God will always test man’s obedience to define the limits of his blessings upon that man.
Many of us know how many of the instructions that God has given us that we declined in obedience. You bind the voice. God is speaking to you, you are binding Him. And He’s telling you: “I’m unbindable.” Church Gist. You quote Scriptures trying to confuse God. God will always test man’s obedience. Watch this, even upon your return from this Mountain, God will still test your obedience. There are many of us that have made up our minds that upon our return from this Mountain: “I will stop this, I will start doing this.” They are all tests of obedience.
-No one here will fail. Say an Amen like a believer. I said: “You will not fail.”
- Obedience is the covenant gateway to accessing and sustaining the blessings of God.
Many of us are familiar with Deuteronomy 28:1-13. We love that Scripture, all kinds of blessings. All kinds of blessings! So every time you see obedience, there’s blessings close by. Deuteronomy 28:3-6. It’s good to say Amen, but back up to verse 1. All these blessings continue to verse 13. Church Gist. Every time we hear those blessings, we shout Amen! In fact, we ensure that our Amen is louder than our neighbour’s. But all of these blessings that God has promised, they are tied to verse 1. The difference maker is the ‘doing’. The doing! Obedience is the difference-maker in the Kingdom. So what separates a winning believer and a defeated believer is not the validity of the Word but the solidity of his obedience. How solid is his obedience? The Word is eternally valid. Valid for all times. But the difference maker is: How rugged is your obedience?
We have discovered that God’s blessings will always trail man’s obedience. Everytime you find man obeying God, the blessing is not far. When you are obeying, people may not understand. Church Gist. They may still be mocking you in your obedience but don’t mind them. Everytime man is obeying God, the blessing of God is not far.
- From your return from this mountain, the kind of blessings that will begin to pursue you will be the dimensions that will silence the mouth of your mockers!
What Is Obedience?
- Obedience is the ability to hear God’s Word and act accordingly. When you move from just being a hearer of the Word to a doer of the Word; when you move from just celebrating revelation to applying instructions. Church Gist. Too many know that to enjoy financial abundance, you must be a giver. No substitute! But there are many, giving is an impossible task. Giving for many is like sucking their blood. Sucking it! Many have their hands closed like this (holding the fist) – alradites, ‘aka gum’. Yet when they say, you will prosper, they shout the loudest Amen. God’s blessings only trails man’s obedience.
- It is putting the Word into effect correctly and timely. I have discovered that everytime you ask God for a miracle, He gives you an instruction. Everytime man asks God for a miracle, God gives him an instruction. In John 2, Jesus had appeared at the wedding in Cana, wine was finished. Church Gist. No more wine and the Mother of Jesus said to the men at the wedding, “hey, I know my son. I believe He had been doing some ‘small small’ miracles in the house. Maybe he had not done a public miracle. But Mary, the Mother of Jesus knew the capacity and the ability of Christ and she said to the servant, whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.” No argument! No explanation! Your input, not relevant. Your ideology is not welcome. Whatever He tells you to do, don’t explain it, don’t analyze it, just do it. And in Verse 7, He gave them the most ridiculous instruction. “You want wine?” They said, yes Sir. He said, “okay, pick the waterpot, fill it with water.” I could imagine the servants looking at him, we said wine not water. He said, “fill the waterpot with water.” Okay! And they filled it and I like those servants. They didn’t fill it halfway. They filled it to the what? To the brim.
- Somebody’s blessing will get to the brim!
If they had filled it halfway, they would have half full jars of wine. They filled it to the brim. So our obedience must be to the full. Partial obedience doesn’t count with God. Church Gist. “They filled it to the brim.” John 2:8-9. When the blessing of God comes upon a man, the difference is clear.
- I pray in the name above every other name, the name of Jesus the Christ, the God of the Liberation Commission, the God of my father, Bishop Oyedepo, the blessings that will hit you, no one in your generation has ever touched it!
- As the grace for maximum obedience returns with every youth from this mountain, there will be maximum blessing rushing in your direction!
So God will always give instructions. Instructions! Now the truth is, where our obedience stops is where God’s blessing stops. So when we get tired of obeying, the flow of blessings stops. If you read carefully that same Deuteronomy at the instance where all of the obedience stopped in Verse 14, everything reversed. Deuteronomy 28:14-15. Church Gist. When your obedience stops, the blessing stops. This God is no respecter of persons. He is not intimidated by the looks of man. He’s not intimidated by age. He’s no respecter of persons. He’s only checking, are we compliant with His instructions?
- His blessings will never cease in our lives!
Hear this, our father has often said this, “obedience may be costly but the end result is always priceless.” Psalm 112:1-10…that means he will have seed. Are you hearing what the Word is saying? Church Gist. For your seed to be mighty, you must have seed in the first place. That means that man will never be barren, that woman will never be barren.
- That means the blessing that God is bringing down upon each one of us will travel down our generations!
- Now hear me by the Word of the Lord, maybe you have come from a generation of strugglers, maybe no one in your lineage has been able to build a house or buy a car or make anything successful out of life, beginning with you, your generation will be called a blessed generation!
- The blessing will travel from you to your children!
- It will move from your children to your children’s children!
- It will move them to your children’s children’s children!
- From today, beginning with you, your generation will be called a blessed generation!
It travels down the line. Listen to this, obedience is the strongest currency in the Kingdom of God. Church Gist. The strongest! It has unlimited purchasing power in this Kingdom.
Now quickly, What Is In obedience? How potent is obedience. What do I stand to benefit when the Spirit of obedience is at work in my life?
- Obedience commits God to our supernatural change of story. Think about Abraham. At the root of Abraham’s consistent change of story was his obedience. Church Gist. The strength of Abraham’s faith was the strength of his obedience. Genesis 12:1-2…no description! No destination in view! Just obedience! And the Bible says, Abraham departed. No argument. He departed. Genesis 12:4.
A time came, the word of the Lord came to him, “circumcize all the male in your household, those born in your house and those brought into your house” and Abraham responded swiftly. Genesis 17. Church Gist. He responded swiftly, he circumcized himself first, circumcized his son, Ishmael, circumcized all of the slaves brought into his house. Obedience. Another time came, having waited for years for the child of promise. Oftentimes, when we claim the blessings of Abraham but we don’t know the works of Abraham. Believers like to say, “Abraham’s blessings are mine. I’m blessed in the morning, in the noon, in the evening”. Church Gist. That’s good but what are we ready to do the works of Abraham? Are we ready to obey the obedience of Abraham? Imagine, waited all these years, people mocked him, “oh, you said you’ll be a father of many nations, you have no child, no proof”. And suddenly, the son of promise comes, you can imagine how Abraham was nurturing Isaac. You can’t touch him, he will check him everyday, “are you okay? Have you eaten? You’re the child of promise, nothing must touch you”. Church Gist. All of a sudden, the Word of the Lord came to him and said to him, “take your only begotten son, Isaac”. You know, if God had not mentioned the name, Isaac, he will quickly pick Ishmael, no argument, he can kill him on the spot. But God knew, “the one you love”. Oftentimes, when God is testing you, He will test you with the thing that you love. When he tested me with that car, he knew I loved the car, He said, “give me that one”. “Take him to a land, to a mountain I will show you and there, sacrifice him”. That means, kill him with your bare hands. Church Gist. And Abraham rose up very early, he could not afford for Sarah to wake up. Can you just imagine, a woman waited for 90 years and now finally, miraculously, supernaturally, now has only one and you wake up as a husband and said God told you that you should kill that son. She would say, “I’d rather kill you first”. So, he woke up very early before Sarah could wake up, carried Isaac and they began to trek. Church Gist. And if you watch Scripture very carefully, they trekked for three days. Have you ever wondered why God allowed him to go for three days? To give him ample opportunity to change his mind. You can imagine as he was coming, day one, the thought come in, “so this child of promise, I will slay him with my hand. Ha”. Church Gist. I could imagine the devil whispering to him, “Abraham, ntoor (tongue out). This son you have waited for, you’ll kill him” and he was moving. Genesis 22:4. What a temptation. It wasn’t close after three days. He got there after three days, God showed him, that’s the mountain up there. I could imagine his heart beating, ‘lub, dub, lub’, yet, he said, “let’s go”. Isaac asked him, “father, where’s the lamb?” He said God will provide meanwhile he’s the lamb. Church Gist. He got him up to the mountain, prepared the altar, tied and bundled the boy and was about to smite him and then God said, “Hey! Stop! Now I know you fear me”. Now because He could swear by no any other thing greater, He swore by Himself. Genesis 22:16.
- May somebody provoke a sworn blessing!
Watch this, sworn blessings are irreversible. No matter how many people are angry, they can’t stop it. That’s what Abraham enjoyed. Church Gist. Forever, the seeds of Abraham are distinguished on the earth. You can’t try Israel, they’re the seed of Abraham.
- beginning with you, your identity and the identity of your family will change. Say an Amen like a true believer.
- What is unique about obedience? When our obedience is fulfilled, we subdue all satanic strongholds, we bring them down, we crash them. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Obedience is a weapon of war and it is mighty through God to pull down strongholds. It is mighty through God to cast out imaginations and bring down every high that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and it takes into captivity every thought. Obedience is powerful.
- Delightsome and tireless obedience is the way to sustain the blessing of God.
Delightsome! Tireless obedience is the way to sustain the blessing of God. So if the blessing will not dry up, our obedience must be sustained. Luke 9:62. So our obedience must be in season and out of season. Church Gist. Obeying God is cheap when the going is good, when things are working, when there is no pressure but the dimension of the empowerment of the Spirit when it comes upon a man, it empowers you to obey God in season and out of season. When the going is good, you obey. When the going is challenged, you obey. That’s the kind Abram had.
-And that’s the kind somebody is carrying from this Mountain. Church Gist. If that person is here, your Amen will show it loud and clear.
But you also know that not everyone that obeys God does so joyfully. There are many that obey God mournfully and grudgingly. Even in service when it comes to obeying God, have you seen the way some people give tithe? They give it with anger. “Take!” In fact, the way they look at the ushers coming. Church Gist. And they drop it with anger. “Take it.” And they forget that the 100 percent that they have God gave it to them. Oh! They are serving and they are serving angrily. The Pastor that was teaching in the First Session, he said you are in traffic control and you are doing it: “Come!” And you see him, he’s approaching a pole, “Keep moving.”
As he said that, I remember the story many years ago, somewhere on the Island. There was this wonderful traffic warden, he used to dance whenever he’s… You know? All those people that (Illustrating): “Come this way!” They do this way for the other ones – They enjoy it. So every time he’s about to close you see him dance round the circle. Church Gist. He will tell these ones: “Come!” Tell this one: “Come!” Tell this one: “Come!” And do this one: “Come!” As they all jam, he will just walk through the line and he’s going. (Laughing). Every time you see him giving traffic joyfully! Excitedly! So you see people from their windows giving him things, he will collect it and smile, put it in the pocket, smiling! Excitedly! The faces of many stewards, even in Church, look angry. Angry! They look offended, they look bitter. Deuteronomy 28:47. It is possible to serve God and be punished for serving. When your obedience and your compliance is not with joy. It’s a punishable offence. Watch that.
-Deuteronomy 28:48. That will not be you. I prayed that prayer for one person: “That will not be you.” No one here will serve his or her enemies.
But you see the effects, because you serve grudgingly; you serve angrily; you obey with bitterness. He said we should give: “Take!” He said we should serve “Mhmm!” Outreach? I’m going. Church Gist. Even the person you’re preaching to when the person sees your face and sees the way you’re looking. You say: “Give your life to Christ.” He will say: No! Just leave the life where it is, jejeje, let me go! Just leave my life the way it is.”
-That will not be you anymore!
Quickly as we begin to close.
What Are The Consequences Of Disobedience?
- Stagnation and demotion.
Every time we disobey God, the outcome is stagnation and demotion. Church Gist. Jeremiah 7:23-24.
- It will be well with everyone of us!
So every time we disobey His instruction, the outcome is stagnation and demotion. That will not be your portion!
- Rejection. 1 Samuel 15:26. So every time God speaks, He commands and we reject it, the outcome – God rejects man. Church Gist. God won’t reject anyone of us here!
- Unanswered prayers. 2 Corinthians 10:6. So when we disregard His instruction, we suffer the effect of unanswered prayers. The question is, do you need grace for sustainable obedience? We all need that grace. Church Gist. Everyone of us needs that grace to obey Him in season and out of season, to obey Him when our flesh is willing and when the flesh is weak and that grace will drop upon each and everyone of us here this morning!
I close with this Scripture, Acts 26:22. Church Gist. So when the help of God comes upon a man, the ability to keep enjoying obeying His Word is released upon that man.
- That’s the grace that every youth is returning with from this mountain of AYAC 2024!
One prayer you will pray…and everyone must pray that prayer with passion because your blessing is tied to your obedience. Church Gist. My blessing is tied to my obedience. But I know we need the help of the Spirit to keep obeying in season and out of season.
PRAYER: Lord help me to obey every instruction that you give from your Word all the days of my life.
- All the days of our lives, obeying God’s Word will become delightsome!
- Obeying God’s Word will become exciting!
- All the blessings available in obedience will become your portion and my portion!
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